Screams Across the Mekong: A Horror Film Exploration in Five Nations
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Abstract
Horror films serve as powerful cultural artifacts through which societies express anxieties, preserve folklore, and negotiate moral complexities. This qualitative study investigates horror cinema across five Mekong nations—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—through a comprehensive comparative cultural analysis framework. The research examines how these films reflect and engage with local spiritual beliefs, historical traumas, societal concerns, and the tension between tradition and modernity. By analyzing 15 culturally significant horror films selected based on regional relevance, box office performance, and IMDb ratings, the study identifies recurring themes including death, spiritual retribution, karmic justice, isolation, gender dynamics, and the disruptive impact of technology on traditional belief systems. The methodology employs qualitative content analysis grounded in semiotic and narrative theory, triangulating film content with scholarly literature, film reviews, and cultural-historical sources. This approach reveals how Mekong horror films function as both entertainment and pedagogical tools that interrogate ethical dilemmas, preserve collective memory, and critique social structures. The study addresses a critical gap in global horror scholarship by offering the first comprehensive cross-national analysis of Mekong horror cinema, demonstrating how these films contribute to national identity formation, regional cultural dialogue, and global cinematic discourse. The findings underscore the role of horror cinema in preserving cultural identity while engaging with contemporary social dynamics, revealing shared regional anxieties alongside nation-specific narrative strategies.
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